Journalist and Satirist Didi Manousi Passes Away at 85

Didi Manousi's poems and songs influenced Israeli culture, document the Israeli experience over decades of history.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 12/20/2013, 1:57 PM / Last Update: 12/20/2013, 2:30 PM

Didi Manousi (left), with Bella Almog, 1986

Flash90

Journalist and satirist Didi Manousi passed away Friday morning, at the age of 85, in his home in Ramat Gan. He is survived by a wife and three children.

At around 9:00 am, the family found Manousi unresponsive. They called Magen David Adom (MDA) medics to the scene, where they were forced to confirm his death.

Manousi was born as Yedidya Manosovitz in Kibbutz Geva, his hometown. After leaving the kibbutz in 1946, he joined the Palmah. Later, he studied literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and undertook travels across the world throughout the 1950s.

Over his life, Manousi wrote many songs which greatly influenced the Israeli experience. One was "Li velach" (Mine and Yours), which was made famous in the movie "Salah Shabati". Others included "Mi Shehalam" (One who Dreamed) and "Bat 60" (60 Years Old), which was written for the 60th anniversary of the founding of Kibbutz Geva'.

He also wrote limericks regularly and published a book of them. Between 1962 and 2000, he published a satirical weekly newspaper column, in the Yediot Aharonot Israeli daily newspaper. His writings were illustrated by his wife, painter Tzila Manousi.

Manousi has reportedly been suffering from Parkinson's disease for the past several years. His funeral will be held Sunday morning.